Acceptance
by thedarkunicorn
Summary: One year after the war and Madara's demise, Team Seven has been reformed, but things are far from perfect. What will Sasuke do now that he has returned? How does Sakura handle it? An attempt to create a realistic scenario of a SasuSaku style epilogue.


_AN: A SasuSaku one-shot set after Sasuke has returned to Konoha and Madara has been defeated**.**_

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Acceptance

_- One year after Team Seven has been reformed –_

Sakura landed hard on the ground outside the main gate of Konoha just behind Sasuke. Looking up, she silently caught her breath as she surveyed him. He was a little dirty like all three of them were, but other than that, completely unhurt, which was good because she had little chakra left. Glancing over at Naruto in much of the same manner, Sakura concluded that they were alright. Pulling her ANBU mask off, she wiped as much sweat away from her face as she could, not realizing how much of it was blood.

"G'night guys," Naruto said, yawning, "I'm gonna crash."

Seeing Naruto take off was Sakura's signal to hurry on too. Ever since team seven had been reformed in recent months, she had felt more than awkward around Sasuke and did her best to avoid having to say anything out of the norm to him. Their missions had been ANBU missions and extremely difficult, even for them, and it was just the three of them. With Kakashi as Hokage, he understood he certainly couldn't fill the gap, and no one else was willing to work with Sasuke. Sai had his own duties, and that left them as a three man cell. Sasuke didn't complain; he acted as if two teammates were a bother to him and would have preferred none. Still, despite the long separation, they all knew teamwork was important and worked flawlessly together. Sasuke had saved her life more times than she could count already, but she reminded herself not to take it to heart. It had been months since everything had settled down after the war, but it hadn't really changed anything between them. Sakura knew Naruto was around Sasuke a lot more than her, but that was because of his own insistence on trying to get Sasuke to come around. Sakura knew it was hoping for too much, and couldn't afford to set herself up for failure again, so she avoided him. Taking a few steps towards the gate, she left Sasuke alone without a word. She didn't realize that he was watching her.

"Sakura."

Surprised at the sound of his voice, Sakura paused. After all, he hardly ever talked to her… but she would never forget it. In fact, the last time he had spoken to her other than about their mission objectives was when she had found him that day so long ago. But she tried to not think about that… it only made her think about how close she had come to…

"You're bleeding."

Sakura turned around and glanced up at him. "Huh?"

Sasuke looked at her with his typical uninterested expression. "You're head. It's bleeding."

Sakura wiped at her cheek again and realized the sweat bothering her on their journey back was not sweat, but blood. Jeez, she couldn't even feel the injury since she had trained herself to ignore the pain… No wonder she was feeling so…

Sakura stumbled as she threw her hand to her head, immediately emitting a soft green glow to heal it before she lost too much more blood. Sasuke's eyes widened at her for a brief moment before narrowing in suspicion.

"Thanks, Sasuke, for telling me," Sakura said, turning around to head home.

"Why didn't you say something about hitting your head?"

Sakura paused, confused about his inquiry. "Why does it matter?"

Sasuke didn't say anything for several moments and walked on ahead of her before he paused and said, "I would have carried you back if you were hurt and couldn't heal it. You shouldn't have taken the risk."

Annoyed, Sakura was about to retort back, but Sasuke had already turned around with an odd expression of weariness and anxiety.

"I can tell you didn't heal that properly because you are exhausted. Come with me."

Unable to form a response, Sakura stared at him like he had just tripped. By the time she closed her mouth and was going to speak, Sasuke was already way ahead of her and stopped to turn back and look at her expectantly. Confused, but undeniably feeling butterflies in her stomach that he had even spoken to her, Sakura followed uncertainly.

When she reached his side, Sasuke fell into step beside her, leading her to the Uchiha district where he remained alone.

"Sasuke?" Sakura chimed hesitantly.

He hmphed in response but didn't even glance at her. He simply stared forward like he always did as if nothing was odd about the situation.

Gulping, Sakura remained silent, scared that if she questioned him now, he would change his mind and she would never know what he was thinking. When she reached his door, he let her go in before him and watched as he removed his boots and followed suit. Watching him, she had no idea what to do or say, or what to expect of him. Helpless, Sakura followed him into the kitchen and admired how pristine it was. She really had a hard time imagining Sasuke cleaning, but he must have been quite adamant about it. She almost didn't even want to remain inside because of how dirty she was, but then again, so was Sasuke.

"Your head looks bad, Sakura, you shouldn't sleep for a while, even if you get someone to look at it. You don't have enough chakra to determine if it is a threat," Sasuke said, going through a cabinet.

Sakura gave him an unconvinced look. "So… what? You're worried about me?"

Sasuke paused for a moment. "It would be foolish of you to be alone right now."

Scowling, Sakura watched him get her an alcohol pad and towel. Taking it, she wiped off the dried blood on her forehead and realized it was sticking in her hair. "Great," she muttered.

"You can use the bathroom if you want," Sasuke said tonelessly.

Sakura eyed him, trying to figure out what he was up to. "It's really unnecessary for me to stay here Sasuke…"

He glared at her. "You know as well as I do that could easily be a serious injury. It would be my responsibility if something happened to you."

Sakura sighed. "Where's the shower?"

"Upstairs. Last door on the right."

Sakura hurried up the stairs, glad to be able to get away from him for a moment to figure out what he was doing. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find herself in what appeared to be Sasuke's room. Frowning, she turned around and returned to the kitchen.

"Isn't there a guest bathroom I can use? I hate to intrude," Sakura said.

Sasuke shook his head. "There isn't anything in them."

Sakura felt like he had hit her in the face with the obvious. Of course… she should have realized that before. Peeking in the hall bathroom she saw what he meant. The room looked like it hadn't seen life in years except for the fact that it was spotless. She might have considered using it anyway if it had a shower curtain… Slowly, Sakura reentered Sasuke's room and felt like she was trespassing. Finding his closet first by accident, she got even more flustered and finally locked herself in his bathroom.

She was overwhelmed by the scent of Sasuke immediately and had to pause and make sure she wasn't dreaming this. She did hit her head after all… Too exhausted to give it much thought, Sakura turned on the faucet and rinsed herself of their recent mission. The soap, the shampoo and the towels all left her feeling like she had just rubbed herself all over Sasuke. Staring down at her dirty and torn ANBU uniform, Sakura frowned. Wrapping her towel tighter, Sakura left the bathroom and was about to dig in Sasuke's drawers for some kind of unrecognizable clothes, but instead found the Uchiha in his room changing himself.

He had been pulling off his ANBU top when she came out and now somewhat unceremoniously let it fall from his hand. Hand trembling from standing before a shirtless Sasuke in a tiny towel, Sakura accidently let one fold of it slip from her fingers. However, before she even had a chance to panic, Sasuke was behind her, his hand gently holding the pinched folds together.

Stunned, Sakura firmly gripped the towel and turned around to Sasuke, but he was already moving towards the bathroom.

"Find anything you want to wear," he said, shutting the door behind him.

More than a little flustered by that, Sakura let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Grabbing the first thing she touched in his closet, Sakura dressed and rushed herself to the living room to sit in the dark empty space.

It was several minutes before Sasuke returned. When he did come back, he went to the kitchen, returning with two glasses of water. He handed one to Sakura and sat opposite her. The silence was comfortable just because she was used to Sasuke not speaking, but then again, she smelled like him, was wearing his clothes, and was in his house. That was when the situation donned on her and she couldn't stand to remain silent anymore.

"Sasuke…"

He looked up at her, his eyes the only part of him that moved.

"I know a lot more about the Sharingan than you think I do. I had access to the Hokage's library for years… I know to what precision it can access chakra. You know that I healed the wound on my head, including the damage to my skull… all I am suffering from right now is loss of blood and exhaustion. So… what is this really about?"

Sasuke's cold black eyes studied her for a long moment, and Sakura was surprised at how readily he was accepting what she said.

"I wanted you here."

Sakura froze and Sasuke never took his eyes off of her. "Then why didn't you just ask me?"

"Would you have come for no reason?"

Sakura thought about it and studied his cool demeanor as she did so. She had truly grown distant to him since he had returned... and she probably wouldn't have had it been something she could avoid. Sasuke was aware of how much things had changed.

Then, without a word, Sasuke got up from his seat and left the room. Sakura sat for several moments trying to understand what was going on and only felt more frustrated. Sasuke really couldn't be more irritating…

Getting up from her seat, Sakura followed Sasuke up the stairs, determined to make him talk. However, with each step she grew more nervous. She realized she was in Sasuke's house in the middle of the night after having just showered with his soap. She could suddenly feel the Uchiha emblem emblazoned on her back, searing itself into her skin and she nearly stopped dead in her tracks. Did Sasuke intend for her to realize what this was all about? With the way he didn't argue with his reasoning for bringing her here… with how he silently left, knowing she would follow?

Sakura stared at his slightly ajar door, only faint light from the moon coming through the window spreading into the hall. As if she was being weighed down by her action, Sakura slowly reached out her arm and pushed the door open and stepped inside Sasuke's room. He was standing near the window, staring out at a beautiful lake. Feeling a little less tense, Sakura neared him and looked out at the scenery, trying to piece together what Sasuke was thinking about. However, his words shattered the silent peace she was building.

"I take you coming into my room as acceptance, Sakura."

Stunned, Sakura did nothing as Sasuke reached out for her and gripped her small waist in his hand, and pulled her chin to his mouth with the other. She couldn't believe… that this cold and distant person… was sending jolts of electricity through her body just by licking his lips. Sakura was entranced by the way she could sense Sasuke's apparent nervous excitement and could do nothing as he took what he had just claimed. Sakura's mind simply was not functioning as she gave in to the overpowering experience that was so much more than she ever expected it to be. Sasuke might not have been very talkative… but he made up for it elsewhere.

They stayed like that for several minutes… exploring this newfound pleasure to the point that something more had to be had or…

Sakura thrust her arms out at Sasuke's chest, the overwhelming feeling startling her out of her reverie. As she stumbled away from him, her knees hit the end of the bed and she fell back, panting, her eyes wide. Sasuke's silhouette was all she could make out as the moonlight blinded her to his expression. Had he… really just kissed her? Touching her fingers to her swollen lips seemed to confirm it, and Sakura began to force the sensation from her body.

"Sasuke," her voice trembling, "I have to know… What is this?"

Stepping closer to her, Sakura scrambled to pull herself further onto the bed, never taking her eyes off of him.

"What do you mean, Sakura?" he asked, his voice more strained than she could ever recall it.

"Is this… just about sex?"

Finally closer to her, Sakura could make out his face. He looked irritated and guilty at the same time.

"No."

Sakura frowned, not entirely convinced. "Then is it me or your clan?"

The bluntness of her words was like a dagger to his chest. Sasuke scowled at her, but was having none of her resistance. Crawling over her on the bed, Sasuke looked down into her eyes and saw the fear for the first time. Not _of_ him, but of losing whatever she was hoping this would be.

"Both."

Sakura's expression became hurt. "Do you love me, Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't understand why, but her voice was incredibly sad. "Yes."

A tear slipped down her cheek. "You don't have to lie to me, Sasuke. You know I would do anything for you anyway, so tell me the truth. Just say no."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. His answer had been automatic… but it wasn't untrue. "It feels strange for me to love anyone, Sakura. I don't know how I feel about you and Naruto… and I certainly don't know how I feel about you alone… but saying no doesn't feel right either…"

The pain in her eyes seemed to subside as he watched her, and little by little, he could see her lips curving into a smile. "That is good enough for me."

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_AN: Hope you enjoyed! Please review! Some parts didn't transition so well because I changed my mind part way through the story... but oh well. _


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